Our Side Of The Screen: Join The Battle
Posted by meredith on 12-17-2008
Today’s Youth Advisory Board feature: Our Side of the Screen is from Libby Issendorf…
Our Side Of The Screen: Join The Battle
Most teen girls and twenty-something women are familiar with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation and their efforts to support breast cancer research. But for women under a certain age, such as myself, breast cancer awareness usually means sporting a pink ribbon in October, running a 5K Race for the Cure, or choosing to buy our dorm appliances in pink because a portion of the proceeds will go to breast cancer research. Our own Caro wrote about Pink Hair for Hope, a campaign that encouraged donation but didn’t emphasize our own risk for the disease. We think of our grandmothers, great-aunts and moms who have fought breast cancer, but we don’t think it can personally affect us yet.
Join the Battle is a Minnesota breast cancer awareness campaign determined to change the perception that breast cancer is not a young woman’s health concern. The site tells 20-something women that we do have the power to detect and even prevent breast cancer right now. Although many women are familiar with early detection techniques, they don’t realize the importance of starting self-exams at a young age, or that taking simple steps like diet and exercise can help reduce their risk.
The striking images of Join the Battle also speak to a younger target. The model’s breasts are replaced with boxing gloves and lettuce to show that breasts aren’t equipped with the right defenses, nutrients, etc, to fight breast cancer. We have to take matters into our own hands and make a conscious effort to join the fight. I heard a rumor that posters of the images will be available soon, and I can’t wait to buy one because the images are so cool. The t-shirts are also attention-grabbing and fit the target of a young, modern, sexy woman.
I do wish there was more interaction on the site—maybe a game or an easy way to forward facts to friends (like “Did you know exercising helps prevent breast cancer?”) But overall, the site is a powerful tool for young women to understand that they do have ways to fight breast cancer in their own lives, not just for their older relatives. I hope the concept gets more funding from Susan G. Komen and is able to spread to a national level, because the unexpected images and empowering positioning will definitely resonate with young women.
Full disclosure: Libby works at the agency that created this campaign
About Libby Issendorf
After growing up on a farm in North Dakota, Libby Issendorf moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota. She discovered her passion for brands and media as a member of her school’s first-place National Student Advertising Competition team. After graduation in 2008, she began her career as a media analyst at an advertising agency. Libby works on media placement and targeting for national brands like General Mills and Land O Lakes. Outside of work, she loves blogging, playing sports, consuming gratuitous amounts of pop culture, the Minnesota Twins, being really geeky with her iPhone, and driving to see her boyfriend, who lives too far away.
Categorized under: Youth Advisory Board, Youth Marketing